international datelines - Winston Churchill

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Despatch BOX, continued To ICS United States Thank you for your invaluable help in locating the primary source for the "pity to be wrong" quotation from Winston Churchill [see "International Datelines." -Ed.] I used it again last week as I addressed the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. You are absolutely right — it is very appropriate for the times. I am delighted to accept an honorary membership in the International Churchill Society of the United States. Thank you also for the copies of Finest Houi. They contain some wonderful material and I shall treasure them. COLIN L. POWELL, CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF, WASHINGTON, DC Election 1955 Memories The photo of WSC and Clementine in issue #73 was from 1955 not 1951, and I thought your readers might enjoy a little information thereon. A General Election was called for 26 May 1955, and although Sir Winston toured the Constituency and addressed several meetings during preceding weeks, he and Lady Churchill did not arrive on Polling Day until the evening, when they dined with Sir Stuart Mallinson at Woodford Green. As escort I duly called for them sometime after 10 PM to take them to the counting of votes at the Sir James Hawkey Hall, Woodford. As they entered the foyer Churchill turned to the right to enter the gentlemen's toilet, followed by Lady C! "Are you joining me, my dear" he enquired, whereupon she collapsed on his shoulder. By chance a press photographer took the snap, and it appeared in the Daily Sketch on Saturday May 28th. I have a copy of the photograph in my archives. Incidentally, Sir James Hawkey, as vice chairman of the Epping Constituency Conservative Association, was mainly responsible for the invitation to Churchill to stand as its candidate at the 1924 General Election. Their friendship lasted until Hawkey's death in 1952. On 24 April 1953 Mr. Churchill was invested with the Garter; on 19 May 1953 I was elected Mayor of the Borough of Wanstead and Woodford — Coronation Year! I laid the Foundation Stone of the Hawkey Hall, with Sir Winston playing 'second fiddle' as our esteemed MP. For the occasion I was presented with an engraved silver trowel with an ivory handle by the Hall's architect. After the ceremony WSC was invited to lay a few bricks beside the 'stone,' and in so doing FINEST HOUR 75, PAGE 32 "Are you joining me, my dear 1 ." (1955) broke the handle off my trowel — much to the amusement of the guests. On 26 March 1955 Churchill drove to Woodford to open the Sir James Hawkey Hall. In his speech he said how pleased he was to see Hawkey's son, Sir Roger, with his daughter Sally, who was celebrating her 21st birthday that day. Thus you can understand the depth of the friendship which grew up between the Churchill family and the burgesses of the Parliamentary Divisions of Epping and Woodford. DONALD L. FORBES, CBE, JP, FCA WOODFORD GREEN, ESSEX Australian Salute On your tour of Australia last year you lunched at Wyndham Estate and met our cousin, Digby Matheson. He has contacted us regarding a poem by our mother, Myra Steer, which we have pleasure in sending to you, in an Australian Comforts Fund copy. Most of her poems were written during the war years. In the family are several letters written by Winston and one by Clementine Churchill, and we have enclosed a photocopy of these. Myra Pickering Steer was born in 1888 and spent her entire life in the southeast corner of Queensland. In 1915 she married Rev. John Steer, reared six children, and wrote prolifically. She wrote many poems, which were published mainly in the local newspaper, and printed two books of verse: "My Pin-Up Man and Other Poems" during WW2 and "Selected Poems" during the Coronation Year 1953. She had a weekly children's column and also wrote a children's book, "Bandai." She passed away in 1964. JOHN & JOY STEER, TEWANTIN, QUEENSLAND My Pin-Up Man by Myra Steer, 1888-1964 He's pinned up in me kitchen, where I sees him every day, An' I often sez, "God bless him," for he helps me on me way, He ain't what you'd call handsome, but his face it makes you care; For he looks like some ol' gran' duke dreamin' in his ol' armchair. 'Taint a "swell" room for to pin him, but I likes him there the best. It's the place where most I needs him in me long endurance test. An' though it's gettin' shabby — needs new lino on the floor — Well, I kind o' just don't see it with him sittin' by the door. Still an' all I get rebellious, peelin' spuds the same ol' way, Washin' up the piles o' dishes, sweepin', cookin' every day. With me fam'ly in the forces, an' releasin' man-pow'r too, I do get so awful weary, I do get so awful blue. And it's when I starts a-thinkin', and feels as I could sob, Comes a chuckle from me "pin-up," an' a voice sez, "Do your job!" An' I sort of stands attention, an' I seem to read his mind; He's a man wot scorns a shirker, an' the folks wot lag behind. An' I sort of hear him sayin', "Blood, an' toil, an' tears, and sweat! I have nothin' else to offer." We shall be victorious yet, "For we'll fight 'em on the beaches, in the hills, the field, the street, An' we never shall surrender, "We shall never take defeat!" An' I kind o' see Ol' England — Isle o' Greatness o'er the sea — Bombed and bleedin', with her Allies fightin' for the likes o' me. So I peels me spuds an' whistles, for me tears won't let me sing — An' I cooks a coupon dinner wot might tempt a hungry king. Now, there ain't no housewife medals — if she dies, no epitaph; But she fights her daily battle, one an' only on the staff; An' what I sez is logic, maybe, consolation, too, It depends upon yer stoker how yer gets yer engine through. An' me "Pin-up" man, he helps me, so I talks to him, I do. An' I sez, "God bless you, guide you, help you see them dreams come true." He's no glamour boy, I'll grant you, bein' just too old by far — But he's England's "Bull-dog" Churchill, dreamin' with his ol' cigar. "Young Winston" Endings I have been trying for a long while to get a true and accurate copy of "Young Winston," starring Simon Ward, including the original final scene. This
ACTION THIS DAY FIRST QUARTER 1892* Age 17 In France to study French, against his wishes, Winston was pleased to receive invitations to dine from aristocratic French friends of his parents. He also enjoyed a visit to the morgue but he was somewhat disappointed that there were ' 'only 3 macabres — not a good bag." After returning to Harrow Winston took up his pen with letters to The Hanovian, over a series of pseudonyms, particularly 'Junius Junior.' He complained of the use of the Speech Room tower as a classroom, of the constant playing of organ music and of the shortage of towels in the gymnasium dressing room. On one occasion the editors of The Hanovian omitted parts of his letter "which seemed to us to exceed the limits of fair criticism." Churchill later recalled receiving the following admonition from the Reverend Mr. Welldon: ' 'My boy, I have observed certain articles which have recently appeared in The Harrovian, of a character not calculated to increase the respect of the boys for the constituted authorities of the school. As The Harrovian is anonymous I shall not dream of inquiring who wrote those articles, but if any more of the same sort appear, it might become my painful duty to swish you ." FIRST QUARTER 1917» Age 42 As Churchill celebrated the New Year at Blenheim, he realized that his chances of coming back to power were not good. As he wrote Lord Fisher: "Our common enemies are all powerful today and friendship counts for less than nothing. I am simply existing." The return to power would follow only exoneration by the Dardanelles Commission of Enquiry. In a letter to the Commission Churchill declared: "If ever there was an operation in the history of war which once having been taken should have been carried through with the utmost vigour and at the utmost speed it was the military attack on the Gallipoli Peninsula." The War Office, he charged, was aware of the incompetency of the generals even if the Cabinet was not. After the military defeat, the politicians were also found wanting in failing to renew the offensive. Upon receipt of a draft copy of the Commission Report from Lloyd George, Churchill wrote a long response to the Commission which concluded: "Public opinion is unable to measure the true proposition of events. Orthodox military opinion remains united on the local view that victory in 1915 could only be found by pouring out men and munitions in frantic efforts to break the German entrenchments in the West. The passage of a few years will throw a very different light on these events. They will then be seen in a truer proportion and perspective. It will then be understood that the capture of Constantinople and the rallying of the Balkans was the one great and decisive manoeuvre open to the allied armies in 1915. It will then be seen that the ill-supported armies struggling on the Gallipoli Peninsula, whose efforts are now viewed with so much prejudice and repugnance, were in fact within an ace of succeeding in an enterprise which would have abridged the miseries of the World and proved the salvation of our cause. It will then seem incredible that a dozen old ships, half a dozen divisions, or a few hundred thousand shells were allowed to stand between them and success. Contemporaries have condemned the men who tried to force the Dardanelles — History will condemn those who did not aid them." He repeated these sentiments in the Commons debate on the Commission's Report: "When this matter is passed in final review before the tribunal of history, I have no fear where the sympathies of those who come after us will lie. Your Commission may condemn the men who tried to force the Dardanelles, but your children will keep their condemnation for all who did not rally to their aid." FIRST QUARTER 1942* Age 67 On New Year's Day Churchill returned from Ottawa to Washington where he and Roosevelt signed the United Nations Charter. A few days later he flew to Pompano Beach, Florida, for a short vacation, and on 14 January he left the United States for home. Over the Atlantic he took over the controls of a Boeing flying boat, even making a couple of banked turns. At a meeting of the War Cabinet Churchill reported that Roosevelt had said to trust him to the bitter end. The next day he told the King that he was confident of ultimate victory. Dramatic events were taking place on the Eastern Front as the showed Churchill after World War II, speaking to the shade of his father ["The Dream," first published in volume form by ICS in 1987] about the events since his father's death. This was a brilliant and unforgettable psychological formulation and the great power of the film. But in the American version, the film ends with footage of V-E Day with Churchill and the Royal Family waving from Buckingham Palace. The British Film Institute tells me that "Young Winston" is available on video through Video Collection Ltd. of Strand VCI House, Caxton Way, Watford, Herts. WD1 8UF, but the UK version "is 120 minutes long as opposed to the original release time of 157 minutes so the same scene that interests you may also be cut here as well." Also, of course, British videos are not compatible with US equipment, requiring (expensive) conversion. Can you help me obtain a copy of the film with the remarkable last scene preserved DR. HARVEY H. SHAPIRO, CHAMBERSBURG, PA. We have been aware for some time of the original ending featuring "The Dream," and would be glad to know if any reader has a videotape with the original ending and could duplicate it for Dr. Shapiro (and us). • FINEST HOUR 75, PAGE 33
Page 2 and 3: Published quarterly by the Internat
Page 4 and 5: INTERNATIONAL DATELINES Quote of th
Page 6 and 7: REVIEWING CHURCHILL EDITED BY JOHN
Page 8 and 9: ENGLISH SPEAKING AGENDA Statesmansh
Page 10 and 11: said, "and that all my past life ha
Page 12 and 13: Only someone who has amassed as muc
Page 14 and 15: WOODS CORNER Addenda, corrigenda an
Page 16 and 17: two firsts also lack headbands. No
Page 18 and 19: stained top page edges. Mortlake va
Page 20 and 21: Foreign Language Editions AlOl/Da M
Page 22 and 23: A123/Du3 DE TWEEDE WERELDOORLOG, De
Page 24 and 25: wsc, Saiah and Emery on the Salon T
Page 26 and 27: Churchill Organizations Worldwide P
Page 28 and 29: and honoured former President Ronal
Page 30 and 31: Churchill in Stamps BY RICHARD M. L
Page 32 and 33: Glimpses: "Unpretentious and Comfor
Page 34 and 35: DESPA TCH BOX In issue #73, Herbert
Page 38 and 39: Russians forced Germany to give up
Page 40: IMMORTAL WORDS "WESTWARD, LOOK, THE

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